


True loves kiss

by TheCrimsonValley



Category: Red Dead Redemption (Video Games)
Genre: And then they kissed, F/F, Feelings, Fluff, Rescue Missions, True Love's Kiss, Warm and Fuzzy Feelings, Wholesome, and they lived happily ever after
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-08
Updated: 2020-02-08
Packaged: 2021-02-28 05:20:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,944
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22618516
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheCrimsonValley/pseuds/TheCrimsonValley
Summary: It's a beautiful morning and Tilly has just started her daily chores when Jack comes find her to play. Not wishing to make the boy sad, she slips away from her laundry folding and joins Mary-Beth to entertain Jack with a game of pretend.Today, Jack has decided to play Knight. He has also decided that this time, he would be the villain... Which means that Tilly is the knight and has to free the Princess.
Relationships: Mary-Beth Gaskill & Tilly Jackson
Comments: 7
Kudos: 13





	True loves kiss

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Natt_the_Tired](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Natt_the_Tired/gifts).



”Please.” 

She had promised herself that she should not even look over at the little boy yet ignoring him turned out to be harder than she had ever imagined. There was always plenty to be done and she was none too keen on being hassled back and forth by Miss Grimshaw on how they were not pulling their own weight. Generally speaking, Tilly had never had troubles telling someone off when stepping on her toes but it was quite different with such a young one as Jack. 

Putting away the shirt she had just folded, she sighed as she turned her face towards him. As soon as she set eyes onto him, she knew there was no denying him whatever it would be he could ask for. Young ones had that aura about them, one that told they had yet to understand all the horrible realities that the world would one day hurl at them and Jack was no exception. With the wild wavy hair and rosy cheeks, he was perhaps the perfect embodiment of the innocence that the rest of the camp had been robbed of.

“Alright” she answered while stroking a few strains of hair out of her face “what is it about?” 

“Mary-Beth said I should ask you to come play with us!” 

His words caused her to furrow her brows. Playing? Here she was, knee deep in folding laundry that would just be wrinkled up in a matter of seconds and not only was her friend playing but expecting her to join. 

“I'm quite occupied here.” 

“Please aunty Tilly.” 

Seeing Jack furrowing his brows and puckering his lower lip out into a pout made her turn back towards her work in a half hearted attempt to appear incredibly busy. Though she liked to tell herself that her work was, seemingly, vitally important to the camp's function, there was the little devil in the back of her head whispering into her ear that she should relax a little. Take some time off. Let Miss Grimshaw perhaps beat Molly's useless ass into lifting her load for once. 

“You know what Jack, you convinced me” she said as she rose to her feet “if Mary-Beth insists.” 

The small lad gave a shout of joy before quickly grasping onto her hand, tugging her along further from the camp site. This did not surprise her at all, be it playing with him, taking a break or finding a good place to nap, they all seemed to prefer to do so with some distance to the guarding dragons of their camp. In the back of her mind, she dearly hoped that neither Dutch, Hosea nor Grimshaw would learn of their little nicknames for them. 

Jack lead on, his small feet trotting through the grass that still carried droplets of morning dew. The air around them had just about warmed up into more comfortable temperatures and with the sun hanging heavy above them, Tilly was certain that this day would be blessed with wonderful weather conditions. 

Pushing through some shrubs and trees, she soon spotted Mary-Beth in a clearing. Almost at the moment that their steps became audible, her friend spun around with that cheeky smile on her lips. It was one that Tilly herself found too adorable for this world but that she had kept mostly to herself. There were plenty of people telling the other woman how beautiful she was, she didn't feel like adding onto that discomfort. 

“How nice of you to join us!” Mary-Beth said with a cheerful laughter “now then Jack, have you decided on what we should play today?” 

As the young lad fell silent, Tilly took the moment to give her friend a little judgemental look, mostly for her own amusement. Many had been the times they would give one another such a light jab, as if to indicate what an “idle” camp mate the other one was. It was little more than their own coping mechanism for the twists and turns of the other's expectations on them keeping things clean and orderly. The only response she received from the other woman was that continuing smile that showcased Mary-Beth's set of rather adorable dimples. 

“We can play knight and princess!” Jack chimed in as he rushed over towards a spread blanket, digging in between the folds to retrieve the lovingly handmade swords. 

“Well, we got a princess alright” Tilly sniggered. 

“Oh yes indeed” Mary-Beth said as she rushed over to take her seat on the blanket “so then, here I shall await the rescue of my dearest sir Jack.” 

Hearing her put on the most exaggerated of princess voices, Jack gave a laughter, the little boy almost falling over but quickly regaining his composure. Though she had not awoken this morning with the intent of being the villain of someone's story, Tilly did confess she did not mind. There were plenty of actions in her life she could draw inspiration from: an expression she had heard Mary-Beth use more than once and that she had agreed with in silence. 

“No, I wanna be the black knight!” 

Jack's tiny but determined voice seemed to throw them both of their trail of thought. Glancing over at her friend, Tilly tried to work out how to answer to that yet it seemed none of them had any good words of discouragement. Was there even a point in arguing about it? It was only a silly little game after all. 

“My pardon” came Mary-Beth's answer, as she added with a wink “I shall await with baited breath the rescue from my brave sir Tilly!”

Against her own wishes, she felt her cheeks flaring up, burning brighter than the sun as she suddenly became extremely focused on straightening out her sleeves. In the corner of her eyes, she thought she could see an amused grin on the other woman's lips but there came no mocking comments. Instead one of the swords was quickly shoved into her hands and, looking down at Jack, she saw the little lad putting one of his hands to his hip. 

“Have at ye!” 

The boy's line was uttered with such conviction she was caught more or less off guard. Fighting the urge of giving a laughter, Tilly drew a quick breath before assuming a stance that she at least thought could be somewhere near what a brave knight should have. Behind Jack she observed Mary-Beth clapping her hands together, an expression of joy that only seemed to come naturally to the young lady whenever she was completely immersed. 

“Vile traitor, where have you hidden the princess?” 

Her retaliation seemed to only serve to amuse her friend further and, as Jack made his first attempt at an attack, she wondered if this game was so much for the little one's sake. They all liked to let loose and have fun, even in these senses. Mary-Beth had not been the first one she had caught in a game of pretend, all with the pretext that it was “for the boy's sake!”. 

Keeping on her toes, Tilly tried her best to counter all the attacks from the lad, amusing him at times by pretending that she was almost beaten down only to spring back with a shout of how she had to “prevail for her princess”. Any times such lines left her lips, she could see that light in her friend's eyes, gleaming in the sunlight. It was a look that almost cost her the battle. 

With a swift movement she stepped in and, in the most gentle of manners, she tapped her sword against Jack's chest. Choking back a laughter she watched as the little boy gave out a few groans, stumbling about before tipping over in the grass in quite the exaggerated death movement. 

“Victory” Tilly shouted with a laughter “finally, the princess shall be mine to save!” 

As she took the first few steps towards the blanket, she watched how Jack shot up from his position, waving his little arms about.

“No! I put a curse on her to sleep for a 100 years!” 

Hearing this sudden twist to their tale, Tilly once more froze on her steps yet Mary-Beth quickly caught on. In the most melodramatic of gestures, her friend gave out a light whining before falling backwards onto the blanket, her hair spreading about her face like a halo, its tips touching upon the still damp grass. 

“... Well what now then...?” Tilly muttered. 

“The prince has to wake the princess with a kiss.” 

At first, she thought the other woman was joking. Of course it had to be a joke. Yet, even though she laughed and muttered the line “yeah right”, Mary-Beth remained laying down, her hands crossed over her chest and her eyes remaining firmly shut. 

“I don't think that will be necessary.” 

Moving up to the other woman's side, Tilly kneeled down while giving a light nudge to her friend's arm. With a raising confusion along with an embarrassed induced frustration, she observed how there came no reaction. The only thing that changed was little Jack moving up to her side and taking a seat as well. 

“Mary-Beth, come on, game's over.” 

“I'm asleep.” 

Furrowing her brows she felt the urge to tell the other woman that then she could sleep but before those lines could be uttered she caught sight of Jack's worried glance. It was a fact they all seemed to forget at times: no matter how they joked about things, they were very much real to this little one. As such, she gave a sigh before leaning in and kissing the woman's cheek. 

“No” Mary-Beth said, her smile growing wider “it has to be on the lips.” 

Feeling her cheeks flaring up once again, Tilly tried to raise up, only to find her hand grasped by Jack. Once more looking upon him, she could see his eyes slightly glossy, his lower lip quivering as he whispered out “I didn't know the spell would work!”. No matter the temptation to just abandon the scene all together, she felt herself unable to. 

With a heart beating so loud in her chest that it felt as if it was about to escape out her throat, she shuffled in closer, making sure that there were no witnesses expect the boy. She would be dead in the ground before anyone would be able to mock her for this yet she could not tell if it was her own pride or those soft butterflies in her stomach that she was most embarrassed about. 

Bending forward, she came to hesitate right above Mary-Beth's lips. For a short moment, long as an eternity, she studied the gentle features of the other woman's face. The freckles and the button nose, the thick eyelashes and her rosy cheeks. It made her tremble to her core in a manner she could not put fully into words. Abandoning her attempt to do so, she instead leaned in the last inch, placing a kiss onto her companion's lips. 

Almost at the second she did so, she felt how the other woman shoot her arms out, closing them around her shoulders and holding her tightly into the kiss. As their lips once more separated she found herself too stunned to utter any words. Not until she heard the giggle that flew over Mary-Beth's lips did she manage to regain some of her composure. 

“Oh my handsome knight” she heard her friend coo “you've saved me!” 

“That I did” Tilly answered, feeling her lips cracking up into the widest of grins “and as thanks for that, this princess will be doing laundry for the rest of the week!”


End file.
